Sunday, May 24, 2015

Random Thoughts On Mad Max: Fury Road

It's been a week since Mad Max: Fury Road came out, and I think I can safely assume most of you have seen the movie and that we can now have a discussion about it. So here are some random thoughts - some serious and others not - that occurred to me during the movie and over the past week.

In case you haven't seen it yet, SPOILERS AHEAD!

1. There's an academic paper just waiting to be written contrasting this movie withHell Comes To Frogtown. Both deal with a common theme of women being oppressed though HCTF has more comedic irony. Also, Rowdy Roddy Piper.2. I love the drum-line vehicle. I want to stat this for Pathfinder and create the most awesome bard ever.

3. I can see why the MRA's hated this movie as it preaches radical feminist ideas like women shouldn't be forced into sexual slavery.

4. More impressively, it depicts the escaping brides taking an active role in their own emancipation rather than waiting for a man to rescue them.

5. For that matter, the movie shows that men are victimized by macho cultures too. Consider Nux and his treatment throughout the movie.

6. For all the talk about how feminist this movie is, I've heard precious little talk about how it also features protagonists with physical disabilities - both Furiosa with her arm and Nux with his anemia.

7. The movie is action-packed but also contains a surprisingly amount of artful symbolism. For instance, do you think it's a coincidence that it is the pregnant bride that gives Max water? Fertility offering the symbol of life itself?

8. Texans and Californians make a lot of jokes about one another but we are united in one thing - making jokes about how Fury Road resembles our states.

Why Fury Road Is Like California - desert wasteland where everyone is dependent on social welfare.

Why Fury Road Is Like Texas - ruled over by violent fanatics who worship guns and oil.

9. Do you think there's a chance the delays in Fallout 4 have just been an excuse to buy time so they could wait for this to come out and then start adding new features/DLC based on it?

10. For that matter, how long before the modding community creates new material based on this for Fallout New Vegas?